Recent developments in medical device technology have led to the development of low cost devices for measuring physiological characteristics of a patient suffering from a chronic disease. As a result of these measurements marked improvements in treatment are possible because the type of treatment is responsive to the result of a measurement.
As an example, diabetes patients now measure blood sugar several times a day to determine when to administer insulin and how much insulin is required. Management of other chronic diseases could require monitoring multiple physiological measurement including pulse rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, body weight, spirometric parameters, etc.
Unfortunately, however, the possibilities of the improved technology often have not been realized because of patient inability to use the device, or understand the meaning of the device output. Often, effective treatment requires that measurements be taken over time and plotted on a graph to determine patient tendencies and the oncoming of a crisis. There are also problems on the health care provider side, with increased physician workload preventing the physician from monitoring compliance and gathering, formatting data, and interpreting data.
The following is a detailed discussion of the problems inherent in treating chronic asthma. Recent events suggest that there is an abundant need for data collection and reporting tools for use in the treatment of chronic asthma. The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 12 million Americans--nearly 5% of the population--have asthma. Asthma morbidity and mortality rates increased dramatically during the 1980's. The reasons for these increases are not well understood. In the 1980's leading medical researchers began to view asthma as primarily an inflammatory response in the airways rather than bronchospasm. Consequently, they began advocating a new pharmacological therapy, anti-inflammatory medications. Furthermore, numerous studies of self management programs have documented the importance of early warning detection and patient-physician cooperative management in the long-term treatment of chronic asthma.
In August 1991 the National Asthma Education Program (NAEP), which was organized by the National Institutes of Health, published its Expert Panel Report: "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma". In its foreword the Expert Panel Report states: "People with asthma can expect to control their symptoms, prevent asthma episodes, be physically active, and breathe normally. This report presents guidelines to help clinicians and patients meet these goals of asthma care." The report suggests regimens for pharmacological therapy, emphasizes the role of anti-inflammatory medication, and warns about the risks of over- and under-medication. The report stresses the importance of fostering a partnership among patient, family, and physician in the achievement of a successful self-management program for asthma sufferers.